Celtic start their Champions League drive at the second qualifying stage this year, looking to return to the group stages after a two year absence under Ronny Deila.

New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers during the press conference

They will take on either FC Flora Talinn of Estonia or Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar in that game, with those two sides meeting in the first qualifying round.

They will be expected to overcome either of them and make it into the third qualifying round of the competition.

The fixtures present a certain problem though given how early in the season they are, but Sviatchenko has promised that they will be 100% prepared regardless.

“We know we need to win the game and we will be ready but now we have some tough pre-season times coming up and we’ll be 100% ready,” he told celticfc.net.

Erik Sviatchenko celebrates after scoring the first goal for Celtic

While the fact that the earliness of the fixture could be a challenge is undeniable, it could also prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Given they are competitive fixtures, it will allow new manager Brendan Rodgers to properly assess his squad ahead of the new season.

That can sometimes be tricky to do in friendly games, especially in pre-season, so perhaps Rodgers will use this tie, and any subsequent ones, to get a proper gauge of the work that will need to be done in the transfer window.

New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is presented to the fans after the press conference

Sean Lunt

Sean Lunt is a Journalism and Spanish graduate with a passion for football. As an avid Everton fan he has survived the Walter Smith era, enjoyed the resurgence under David Moyes and is now wholly embracing the Spanish revolution with Roberto Martinez. Away from Everton he follows the rest of the football league and has a particular interest in La Liga.